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Why has this been brought in now?

Well, as referenced above, it caught a lot of people on the hop.

However, the issue has been a talking point for some time and the powers that be have been considering it for just as long.

It is on a trial basis initially so if for some reason bonus points end up having a negative impact they can be shelved. But if that’s your ideal scenario then don’t hold your breath. They are likely to be kept in place if the effect is minimal on the basis that it will all come good in time and organisers won’t want egg on their faces.

Six Nations bosses believe the system will enhance the spectacle of each match by rewarding try-scoring and attacking styles of play.

That in turn, so they say, will provide greater value for money for supporters and broadcasters.

Jamie Heaslip crosses for the World Rugby try of the season against Italy in the 2016 Six Nations Championship

What do opponents of the system say?

That bonus points won’t make a blind bit of difference and that the Six Nations is very definitely not broken so why fix it?

For all that in the majority of the professional era the southern hemisphere teams have been the best, the annual northern hemisphere face-off has been envied.

Its history, its colour and unique rivalries have given it a status all of its own and traditionalists say it does not need to fall into line with other tournaments in any way.

They will also argue that in the last few years so-called Super Saturday – the last weekend of business – has offered more than enough drama in terms of points differential to satisfy the thrill-seekers.

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Why are Grand Slam winners being given an extra three points?

Precisely to safeguard against the situation whereby a team wins all of its matches but does NOT win the title.

It could happen under a bonus points system which sees a certain side run riot in, four of their matches but lose the other one.

We scarcely need expand on how ridiculous it would be for a team to end with a 100% record and not be crowned champions.

The three-point reward for the jackpot ensures that it will not.

Wales lift the 2013 Six Nations Championship title after their thrilling 30-3 win over England on the final day

Will all this REALLY improve the spectacle?

Only time will tell, but you could argue that Six Nations chiefs are a little late to the party on all of this.

They’ve decided to incentivise enterprising rugby at the very time when most of the best teams in the world are embracing it anyway as the best means of ensuring success.

That said, it is difficult to mount too strong a case as to what harm bonus points can do.

The southern hemisphere Rugby Championship has always used them, though last season they tweaked it to award a bonus point to sides scoring three or more tries than the opposition rather than just for scoring four tries.

And the season-long domestic tournaments don’t suffer for the system either.

The bottom line is that rugby fans want to see tries in the same way their football counterparts want to see goals.

Granted, connoisseurs of the game also appreciate the power and technique on show at the set-piece and in rolling mauls etc but the vast majority of more casual watchers get little out of dour arm-wrestles.

The knowledge that four tries will yield a tangible benefit is only going to make for more attacking mindsets.

Joe Marler and Samson Lee clash in the England-Wales Six Nations match

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Will the 2017 Six Nations be that much different?

Not really. All teams will operate the same approach – win the game first of all and whatever else we get is...well, a bonus.

Matches will still be won and lost up front, the donkey work will still have to be done at set-piece, teams will still have to win the collisions and the battle for possession at the breakdown as they have always had to.

And having a kicker who can slot his goals will remain just as important.

What bosses hope will be different is the attitude of each team when the result looks beyond doubt; both teams, they hope, will chase the carrot of bonus points in the knowledge that it could effect the final table.

What does it mean for Wales?

On the face of it plenty will argue this isn’t great news for Rob Howley and his boys, although the Wales boss and his army of laptop gazers will immediately highlight that 17 scores made us the leading 2016 Six Nations try scorers.

That total is skewed somewhat by the nine they ran in against Italy in a 67-14 final day romp, and yet Wales showed at times against New Zealand last summer that they are capable of potency in open play when they get it right.

What will worry many of their supporters though is the overall lack of a clinical edge in attack, and the problems that Wales so patently have experienced in adopting a more open and fluid style this autumn.

They on three out of four this November but context has been everything. The consensus has it that Wales are a team fumbling around in their quest for an alternative to their outdated Warrenball identity.

Basic skills remain not what they should be in a squad that contains so many experienced players. Vision, instinct and exploiting overlaps when they are created are also deficient areas.

The truth is Wales will go into the 2017 championship as a team simply craving wins against decent opposition, never mind racking up bonus points.